Akashi's Chair
by Ambuh
Summary: (Alternate Universe) Seirin: a thriving city popular among struggling minors. It has outlawed slavery there, AND it's a considerable distance from any piece of the Teiko Empire. Kise and Kagami, neighbors living in Shinkyo, and Kuroko, a slave, wish to start anew in Seirin... Main Pairings: Kuroko x Kagami/Aomine/Akashi DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.
1. Wristband

"Aomine-kun, I have a confession to make."

"Hmm?"

It was a steamy late-August day, and Aomine was taking a well-deserved birthday nap underneath a tree. ...That is, until Kuroko gently shook him awake.

_Confession...? Why so gloomy all of a sudden?_

Aomine sat up straight and sleepily looked up at Kuroko, who seemed very interested in his shoes.

"What's the matter, Tetsu?"

"W-well..." Kuroko hesitated.

Aomine raised an eyebrow and asked, "You okay? You're never like this."

Kuroko sighed and sat down next to his friend, still not looking at Aomine.

"...I'm ashamed of myself."

Aomine said nothing. He couldn't think of anything to say. If his hunch was correct, there wouldn't be anything he could do to cheer Kuroko up.

Kuroko continued: "I kept saying that I would think of something special to give you on your birthday, something to thank you for all that you've done for me. I am ashamed for not thinking of anything sooner, but I am hopeful," he forced a smile, "that you will accept half of what is truly my own."

"...Huh? Stop talkin' in riddles and just get to the point, Tetsu." _He's normally more straightforward... what's going on?_

Kuroko looked at Aomine for the first time and held out one of his black wristbands.

"What...?" Aomine took it in his hand and looked at Kuroko in bewilderment, suddenly realizing what his friend was doing.

"You're saying that this is my gift!?"

"Yes."

"No, I can't accept this! This is all you have left, right?"

"That's why I want Aomine-kun to have it." Kuroko rose to stand. "It's only appropriate that you receive something that cannot be replaced or forgotten, just like Aomine-kun's kindness towards me when we first met."

Kuroko's smile was no longer forced. He looked genuinely happy.

_Damn it, how can I say no to that look?_

Even when it was obvious that Kuroko was content, he almost never smiled.

Aomine looked more thoughtfully this time at the gift in his right hand, then reluctantly put it on his left wrist.

_"Sigh. _Alright, but if you want me to have this, then I want you to start eating more-"

_Huh?! He's gone? Why's he always so invisible, jeez..._

Too lazy to hunt the shadow down, Aomine lay back again and let the sound of cicadas lure him to sleep.

* * *

><p>That was a while ago. About five months, to be a little more precise.<p>

As the train got closer to their destination, Kuroko thought more about that day. He still refused to eat more. He was happy with the size of his stomach; he didn't see much reason to change it.

The other slaves occupying Kuroko's cell became restless. Some were older, some younger, but all of them were male. And they were all in the same situation: too weak to used for labor, so they would be used as toys.

But oddly enough, Kuroko wasn't at all afraid. Even if he died from this, he felt strongly that his friend wouldn't.

_Aomine-kun is more than strong enough to find a way out. Wherever he is... he will be fine._

Kuroko thought of the kindness and strength he was shown from the first moment he met his friend. He missed it, but Aomine's absence didn't bother him for once because they each had a wristband.

Even though Kuroko had forgotten his past, he knew that Aomine would never forget him.


	2. Pills

Kuroko is the only slave to be dropped off at the Town of Shinkyo. The Manager gives him pills as soon as he steps off the train. These pills, known as Silence Pills, are commonly used on slaves to silence their vocal chords for up to 24 hours. All Kuroko can do now is whisper, which is also pointless since he'll be beaten if he utters a single word.

That is the main rule for a Stationed Slave.

But Shinkyo rarely gets Stationed Slaves, so there is no designated area for Kuroko to go. He will have to live with someone until his master comes to pick him up. He's supposed to arrive in a few weeks, traveling from the other side of the continent. The Manager herds Kuroko into the back of a van to go meet who he will be staying with for the month of February.

* * *

><p><em>CHONG.<em>

_Jeez, first the TV and now the doorbell. This whole house is falling apart!_

Kagami rolls off the couch and shuffles to the door, still waking up from his mid-morning nap. He shivers as he opens the door and feels a cold breeze enter the house. Standing at the doorway is a scruffy-looking middle-aged man with cold eyes. Standing beside him is...

_Could that be 'Kuroko' already?! I didn't expect him to come until later this week..._

The scruffy man clears his throat. "You're Kagami Taiga, right?"

"Um, y-yes..."

"Well, here's the slave you're supposed to look after." He gestures towards the teen standing beside him in a thoughtless way. "He has supplies in his backpack; it should be more than enough for the next few weeks. Make sure to use the Silence Pills unless you want trouble. Oh, and the post office will call you when his master arrives to pick him up."

Kagami nods. "Right. Thanks..."

And with that, the man climbs into his van and drives away.

Kagami looks around for Kuroko, but to no avail.

"Huh? He was right in front of me...!"

Kagami finally turns around and suddenly sees a short, blue-haired teen. "UWAH! H-how long have you been standing there!?"

Kuroko just looks up at him with blue, expressionless eyes.

"Sigh. Well, whatever." Kagami closes and locks the door behind him.

_CHONG._

_"Again?!"_

He angrily throws the door open to find Kise, whose usual obnoxious grin had suddenly transformed into a rather frightened look.

"Kagamicchi, what's with the scary look? I just wanted to see if Kurokocchi was here yet!"

"He just got here, relax," Kagami grumbles. "And stop it with the '-cchi' already!"

Kise isn't listening. He just barges right in, runs towards Kuroko, and wraps his arms around him in a tight bear hug. Poor Kuroko shows an emotion for the first time: annoyance.

After closing the door again, Kagami walks over to Kise and somehow manages to drag him off of Kuroko.

Kise pouts for a minute, then calms down, miraculously, and is suddenly his cheerful self again.

"So, Kurokocchi! Do you like Shinkyo so far? I can show you around if you want-! _Ow! What was that for, Kagamicchi!?"_

"You moron. Did you already forget that he's a slave?! Keep it down, before neighbors get suspicious!"

"Alright, alright..." Kise reluctantly lowers his voice and asks again: "So, Kurokocchi. You enjoying Shinkyo so far?"

"He literally _just _got here, Kise."

"So!? Maybe he likes your house so far!" Kise's grin gets wider as he looks at Kuroko again. "So do you like it here?"

Kuroko blinks and looks around the living room. There's not much in it- just a TV with a cracked screen, a large but shabby-looking couch, an old lamp, and a coffee table between the couch and TV- and it's rather small. He looks at Kagami and gives him an obviously disappointed look.

"Hey, this isn't a five-star hotel! What did you expect!?"

"Kagamicchi, you're the one who said to keep it down."

"Sh-shut up!"

Kagami gets ready to hit Kise again when Kuroko steps forward and points to his lips and shakes his head.

Before Kagami can get even angrier at Kuroko's sign language, Kise's eyes widen and he exclaims, "Oh, they gave you Silence Pills! No wonder! You seemed a little more talkative at the Rakuzan Train Station, after all."

"Huh? I thought you met him on a train?"

"No, I met him coming off of it on my way to deliver a package. I talked to him through the open window."

"Oh yeah, that's right." _I keep forgetting that Kise's a part-time mailman on top of his part-time modeling... thing._

* * *

><p>Kuroko and Kise had met about three weeks ago... If it hadn't been for Kise's part-time mailman job, the two never would have crossed paths.<p>

Kise could easily recall that day at Rakuzan: Seeing that Kuroko looked smaller and weaker than most of the other male slaves, Kise felt sorry for him and talked to Kuroko for a bit. Kise learned that he was being dropped off in Shinkyo to wait for his master. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice them talking. Kise called Kagami right after the train left and asked him about when he was planning to leave for the City of Seirin.

"Um, towards the end of February, remember?" Kagami replied. "You said you're coming too, right?"

"Yeah, but I was wondering if we could take someone else with us..."


	3. Invisible

The remainder of the afternoon with Kuroko is surprisingly uneventful. After seeing that Kuroko does not have enough supplies to get him through the next few weeks, Kise goes out shopping for him. Meanwhile, Kagami shows Kuroko around his house. It's a little awkward since Kuroko can't respond, but it's not as though he can help it. When Kagami finishes the tour, Kuroko disappears into the guest room until Kise comes back with the supplies at about five 'o clock.

"Hey, Kurokocchiiiii!" Kise calls as he drops a few shopping bags onto the couch. He looks around the living room as though expecting to see Kuroko. He turns to Kagami, who's in the kitchen making dinner. "Kagamicchi, where's Kurokocchi?"

"Probably in the guest room. He's been holed up in there the entire afternoon."

"Whaaaaat!? Kagamicchi, you should've spent some time with him!" Kise angrily snatches the bags off the couch and storms out of the room and into the hallway. He takes about ten steps forward, then makes a right into the guest room.

"Kurokocchi, I got you some new clothes and-!" _Huh? Where is he...?_

_"WAAAAHH!" The covers are... moving? Wait a sec..._

Kuroko's head pops out from beneath the covers. Kise can only see his eyes, which look very tired and annoyed.

"Ahh, s-sorry, Kurokocchi!" Kise blushes and hurriedly leaves the room, slamming the door behind him.

When Kise runs into the living room, Kagami is setting out dishes of food onto the coffee table.

"O-oh, is dinner ready?"

"Yeah. Go get Kuroko," Kagami demands.

"But he was trying to sleep when I went into the room, Kagamicchi..."

Kagami sets down the last plate and turns to face Kise with a raised eyebrow. "What the hell's going on with you? Ever since you met Kuroko, you've been more obnoxious than usual."

Kise is obviously taken aback by this blunt statement. Kagami takes note of how he winces after hearing the word "obnoxious".

"...I'm just worried about him," Kise finally replies as he sits down.

"Well, no kidding. But of course, anyone would be worried. He is a slave, after all. Stop stating the obvious."

"No, it's more than that," Kise insists. He looks serious for the first time that day. "There's just something... _off _about him. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something's just not right..."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Kagami sits down in the middle of the couch, with Kise on his left, frowning.

"Well..." The blonde struggles to explain. "I dunno. But when I first met him at the train station..."

"Wait, where is he? Go call him already."

"Oh, right!" Kise leaps off the couch-

_"Oof!"_

He suddenly staggers backward. "Oh, l-looks like you're already here, Kurokocchi..."

Kagami turns around, and sure enough, Kuroko is indeed here. He stands just a few feet away from the couch, looking a little dazed from the collision. Since he can't talk, he just bows to Kise in apology and promptly sits down on Kagami's right.

With no functioning TV and apparently nothing to talk about, the three of them just eat in silence. After dinner, Kise whispers to Kagami when Kuroko is out of earshot: "See? He's so... invisible."

Kise stays at the house for a while to make sure Kuroko's new clothes fit him, then is thrown out by Kagami for being too "obsessive over Kuroko" again.

* * *

><p>At around nine 'o clock, Kagami realizes that he hasn't seen Kuroko since Kise left an hour ago. When getting up from the couch to go to the guest room, he feels something tap at his arm...<p>

_"Gah!" _Suddenly, Kuroko is there, looking up at Kagami with the same emotionless expression. "Jeez, I can't wait 'til the pills wear off so you can just tell us when you're there... Huh? Where're you going?" _Don't tell me you were just saying hello!_

And so an irritated Kagami follows Kuroko to the guest room.

"So what the hell did you want?!"

Kuroko holds up a black wristband in response. Kagami takes it in his hand, but finds nothing special about it.

"Ok... What about it?"

Kuroko's face becomes more expressive as he uses hand motions to urge Kagami to keep looking at it. There's a glimmer of hope in his eyes...

Finally, Kagami thinks to turn the wristband inside out. A piece of scotch tape had been stuck inside, with "Kuroko Tetsuya" written on it in faded black marker. _So that's his full name, right..._

"Well, I'm Kagami Taiga, and the idiot who bought you stuff is Kise Ryouta."

Kagami suddenly sees Kuroko smiling for the first time that day. When he gives him the wristband back, he notices something on his Kuroko's fore wrist before the wristband covers it again...

_Is that... a branding of some kind?! Am I just imagining things? No, I definitely saw it... It was the symbol for "male"... Maybe that's what they do to slaves as a way of marking them?_

Before Kagami can say anything about it, Kuroko holds up his left arm with his hand in a fist. Judging by the eager look in his eyes, Kagami can guess what he wants.

A much less irritated Kagami smiles back as he completes the fist bump.


	4. Vanilla Milkshake

Kagami wakes up the next morning to the smell of eggs.

_Eggs...?_

Yes, that is indeed what happens. When Kagami ventures into the kitchen, he finds Kuroko, already dressed, leaning against the counter while contently eating a fresh hard-boiled egg.

"Oh, having breakfast already?"

"Yes. Did you want one, Kagami-kun?"

"Sure. ...Wait, what?"

Kuroko frowns as he passes the plate of eggs to Kagami. "Is something the matter?"

"Well, uh..." It takes Kagami a second himself to realize why something feels off. "Oh, I guess it just sounds kind of weird to hear you talk for the first time." Kagami takes about five eggs from the plate.

When Kuroko puts the plate back on the counter, they both go into the living room and sit on opposite ends of the couch. Then Kuroko suddenly asks: "Would it be better if I were taking the pills?"

Kagami almost chokes on his first bite. "*cough*... Huh? Why would I want you to do that?!"

Kuroko looks surprised by Kagami's reaction. "...I don't understand why that would be such a big deal, Kagami-kun. I am in your debt, so if you don't want to hear me-"

"Argh, just stop that already, you idiot!" But before Kagami can finish, he wolfs down the rest of the eggs. THEN he looks Kuroko dead in the eyes and says: "Listen. I dunno if you've figured this out or not yet, but just so you know, you're _not _a slave anymore, got that? You'll come with us to Seirin at the end of the month," he rises from the couch, still looking at Kuroko, "and you'll be free."

* * *

><p>The next couple of weeks are rather uneventful. Kagami insists that it's best to keep Kuroko inside, just in case, so the month passes with Kise trying to sneak Kuroko outside every other day, only to be caught and "punished" by Kagami halfway out the door. As for Kagami and Kuroko, they don't speak much to each other after their conversation on the first morning.<p>

_"You'll be free." That's what Kagami-kun said, but... _For whatever reason, Kuroko feels that "freedom" could never be a reality for him.

But about a week before him, Kagami, and Kise are to go to Seirin, Kuroko gets more of a taste of freedom.

* * *

><p>It's early in the evening when Kise stops by, and Kuroko is startled to see that he looks agitated as he barges through the door. <em>Isn't Kise-kun normally smiling...?<em>

With burning, narrow eyes, Kise storms away into the hallway. Kuroko assumes that he goes into Kagami's room, based on the shouting of two voices that he soon hears. Perhaps the walls are especially thick, because despite how loud the voices are, Kuroko can't understand what they're saying. The volume decreases slowly, and soon Kuroko can't hear them at all. A few minutes later, both Kise and Kagami walk out into the living room. Kuroko finds himself smiling, a rare expression, when he sees that Kise is smiling again.

Kise smiles yet wider at Kuroko and cheerfully asks: "So Kurokocchi! Wanna got out for dinner tonight?"

Kuroko cannot believe what he hears. "Go out"? Meaning out of the house?!

Kuroko rises from the couch to face Kise and Kagami. "But Kise-kun, Kagami-kun, isn't it dangerous?"

Kagami steps forward. "It should be fine as long as it's just one night," he replies casually. "Kise got all mad when he heard that the Maji here was going out of business, so he's worried that this'll be your only chance to eat there. Although I'm pretty sure they'll have it and other fast-food places like it in Serin." He gives Kise an annoyed glance at the last sentence.

"So c'mon, Kurokocchi! Put on that coat I gave you and let's go!" And poor Kuroko doesn't much say in the matter, for he is practically dragged out the door.

* * *

><p>Shinkyo is a small town. The streets are large, but there's not much activity in them. Kuroko, Kise, and Kagami pass by a few people here and there, but for the most part, Kuroko sees nothing, nor no one, noteworthy. He does see plenty of lights on from inside houses, though. It's a chilly night, after all. If only Kuroko could see what spring is like here...<p>

Kuroko isn't entirely lost in thought- he just mindlessly follows his companions, vaguely aware of his surroundings, which are getting brighter- but he's pleasantly surprised to suddenly walk into a warm, noisy building.

"Maji" doesn't look all that special. To Kuroko, it's just another fast-food restaurant. But the smells! It had been months since he had last smelled so many different kinds of food being prepared at once...!

"Hahaha! It's nice to get out of the house, right, Kurokocchi?" Kuroko realizes that he was smiling again. Kise is looking down at him, smiling back. Kuroko looks at Kagami, but he seems to more interested in the menu.

_Speaking of which..._ Kuroko steps forward to see the menu better. He isn't very hungry, but since he's here with his friends...

* * *

><p>"That's all you're having?!" A bewildered Kagami exclaims at Kuroko once the trio sits down with their food. "Just a vanilla milkshake?!"<p>

"Yes."

"Are you kidding me? You need to eat more. Here." Ignoring Kuroko's protests, Kagami places one of his many burgers near the shake. "Eat at least some of it, alright? Besides, I think you've earned it after surviving two weeks with that moron sitting next to you."

"Hm?" Kise seems more interested in his phone. "Sorry, Kagamicchi, what did you say? I'm getting fan mail again..." He sighs as though it's a horrible situation to be in.

Kuroko frowns. "Fan mail...?"

"Oh, yeah! I never told you, Kurokocchi!" Kise's eyes fill up with life again. "You see, I'm a part-time mailman AND a part-time model! I hope to keep modeling once we get to Seirin!"

"Oh, I see. Good luck with that, Kise-kun." Kuroko doesn't notice Kise blush as he takes his first sip of milkshake.

* * *

><p><em>"Hey Tetsu! Today's your birthday, right? I made you a vanilla milkshake since you like those so much!"<em>

_"...Um, is it bad? ...What?! You haven't even tried it yet? C'mon, Tetsu, hurry up and drink it!"_

_"Oh, good, you like it! I wasn't sure how it turned out, since I wanted you to have the whole thing to yourself if it was good."_

_"Let me know if you want me to make more. It's no big deal to me; it doesn't take me very long... Huh? You finished it already?!"_


	5. Happy MilkshakeBurger Land

The day before the trip to Seirin is not as hectic as one would expect it to be. There isn't much to pack. Everyone has to stuff everything they need into a single backpack. (Serin is a rather popular place to go, especially among struggling minors, so space for luggage is limited. What's more, is that Seirin only accepts so many minors into the schools at once, and only during the weeks of April 1st and October 1st of every year.) Kuroko, being a slave, doesn't have much to pack. Kagami doesn't have many meaningful, sentimental possessions, so packing isn't very difficult for him either. As for Kise, Kagami is shocked at how little he's willing to pack. (Kise had stopped by earlier to see Kuroko and to tell him and Kagami that he was all set with his packing, if they needed any help.)

"I thought he would complain about not having enough space for clothes..." Kuroko hears Kagami mutter as he passes by the guest room. He pauses in front of the open door to finish zipping his backpack's pockets closed.

When he's done, Kuroko asks, "Why is that, Kagami-kun?"

"Gah!" Kagami wheels around and finally sees Kuroko sitting on the bed. "H-how long have you been there?! I thought you were in the living room!"

"I've been sitting here for a while, Kagami-kun."

"Argh, of course..." Kagami starts to walk away.

"Kagami-kun."

"Hm?" Kagami pops his head through the doorway again.

"I... look forward to being free."

Kagami just stares at Kuroko for a moment. Then he laughs.

"I don't understand. What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing..." And with that, Kagami leaves, and two of them don't speak again until dinner, which is takeout from Maji.

* * *

><p>Ever since Kise and Kagami had seen how happy Kuroko looked when having a vanilla milkshake, Kuroko had been getting one every other day. When Kise comes back to Kagami's house with the food, he presents Kuroko with a large shake.<p>

When Kuroko sees this, the look on his face is unforgettable. Kagami and Kise could never dream of seeing Kuroko look so happy! His eyes shine as he holds the shake in his hands and takes his first few sips...

"Hahaha! Looks like Kurokocchi's in Happy Milkshake Land!"

As the three dig in, Kuroko, who is sitting in the middle of the couch, takes a break from his shake and turns to his left to face Kagami. "You never answered my question earlier, Kagami-kun."

"Hmm? Om yahf," Kagami replies with a mouthful of burger. Surprisingly enough, he automatically knows what Kuroko is talking about. He swallows and gives his answer: "I thought Kise would complain about not having enough clothes because he wants to do modeling in Seirin."

"Huh? What did you say, Kagamicchi?! Why would I think that? There are things more important than clothes, you know!"

"But don't you need extra clothes for the job?"

"Not clothes of my own! They _give _you stuff to put on at photo shoots!"

"Oh, I didn't know that."

"How could you not know that?!" _Kise-kun is angry...?_

"Well, you never told me."

Kise's tone changes from angry to sad pouting. "But I _have _told you, Kagamicchi. I've told you _a lot _about my job. You just don't listen!"

Kagami appears to not be listening now, either. He has gone back to Happy Burger Land.

_Are Kagami-kun and Kise-kun friends? Or just neighbors that put up with each other's company? But if that's the case, then why are they traveling together?_

* * *

><p>After dinner, Kise goes home, and Kagami heads straight to bed, saying that tomorrow's going to be a long day of walking to the train station. The streets will be full of teens trying to sneak on the train to Seirin. Not only that, but they haven't formed a plan on how to get Kuroko, a formally registered slave, past security. They'll have all day to get on the train, since it leaves at six in the evening, but the day will start early and will have many obstacles to get past.<p>

But Kuroko can't sleep. He tosses and turns in bed for hours, reads through some books, only to stay awake until midnight. He finally decides to get up and walk into the kitchen.

_Warm milk's supposed to help... I've yet to try it, but maybe it will work..._

Nope. Doesn't work. Kuroko actually feels more awake than before. At two in the morning.

_It's no use...! _Kuroko softly groans, buries his head in the pillow, and tosses and turns some more. Three 'o clock. Four. Five.

_I have to get up in an hour. I'm exhausted, but maybe it's better to get a head start. _So he gets up and gets dressed. He eats some cereal and brushes his teeth and hair. He washes his face. He double-checks his backpack. All in 30 minutes. _Sigh, what's wrong with me? Usually, I fall asleep right away with no problems. Although I suppose I _am _a little nervous about security..._

_Kagami-kun said he would get up at six 'o clock, so I have half an hour to kill._

_CHONG._

Kuroko jumps at the sudden sound of the half-broken doorbell. _Who could be visiting at this hour...?_

He quickly walks out of the guest room and into the living room, where he approaches and opens the door.

A teenage boy with black hair covering his left eye is standing at the door with a gun in his hand, pointed at Kuroko's chest.


	6. Favor

**Special thanks to AikahisakatuSeishin for posting a review, and to everyone else who has been reading this story so far! Happy New Year! ;)**

* * *

><p><em>CHONG.<em>

_"Mmph...?"_

Kagami rolls out of bed after hearing the door bell try to ring. He suddenly finds himself on the floor. He rolled onto the floor, it would seem.

_Maybe I should just let it go..._

_! Was that the door slamming shut?! Don't tell me Kuroko's answered the door!_

Feeling awake now, Kagami jumps up and sprints to the living room.

_No one's here...?_

_"Hey, Kuroko-!_ Huh?" _Is that...? His wristband?_

Lying in front of the door is indeed Kuroko's wristband. Kagami kneels down, picks it up, and turns it inside out and finds 'Kuroko Tetsuya' on the piece of tape again.

"But what's this doing here- _Ow!"_

Kagami's sole comes into contact with something cold and hard as he stands up.

_His phone...? It has a new text message..._

_'I'm assuming that Kagami Taiga is reading this, correct? Well, Kagami, you won't have to worry about getting your new friend past security anymore. We've decided to do you and Kuroko a favor. My friends can be a bit short-tempered, however, so I recommend that you and Kise should just get on the train like nothing unusual's going on. Otherwise, I'm not sure if we'll ever be able to return your friend to you.' _

* * *

><p>Kise and Kagami board the train at three in the afternoon with no difficulties. Kagami, of course, had informed Kise of Kuroko's kidnapping. Kise managed to convince Kagami that it was best to just do as the text message said, since there were no other clues as to where Kuroko had been taken to. When Kagami tried to call the captor using the caller ID, Kuroko's battery died.<p>

_You would think he would keep it charged, especially for the long trip to Seirin..._

The train has compartments with beds for passengers to stay in, two beds per "room". Kise and Kagami each sits on his bed, adjacent from one another for awhile. Finally, at four 'o clock, Kagami explodes. Figuratively, of course.

"Argh, I can't take this anymore! I'm heading out to find him NOW!"

"B-but, Kagamicchi, what if they do something do Kurokocchi because of us? I'm worried too, y'know, but-"

Kagami slides the door open and glares at Kise. "Then we'll just have to find them before that happens, idiot!"

And with that, the door is slammed shut, and Kise starts to have second thoughts.

"Sigh, is it really such a good idea? I don't wanna see Kurokocchi get hurt..."

_Hmm... But if he's on this train... we could make this work!_

Suddenly feeling inspired, Kise rushes out to follow Kagami. "Wait for me, Kagamicchiiii-! Huh?"

Kise stops in his tracks when he sees that Kagami has stopped at someone's room, seemingly talking to someone. Kise, more slowly, walks up to Kagami and peers into the room to find another teen with green hair and glasses. Cold, green eyes suddenly glare back at Kise's golden ones.

"Um, who are you, exactly?"

The stranger pushes his glasses back with his left hand as he replies. "I am Midorima Shintaro. But that's not important right now. Come inside." Midorima's left hand's fingers appear to be taped for some reason...

Kise gives Kagami a worried glance.

"He says he might know something about Kuroko," Kagami says in a hushed voice.

Once inside the room, Kise and Kagami sit on one bed, Midorima sits on the opposite one. Midorima then begins the conversation.

"Kagami, you said that you were looking for someone named Kuroko Tetsuya, right?"

"Yeah, sounds like you know something about him. Where is he?!"

"K-Kagamicchi..."

"Relax. I have no reason to harm your friend. I happen to know a friend of Kuroko's that would like to see him again, so I'm actually on your side. So unless your ears are just for decoration, you should use them to hear me out!"

"How can we be sure you're not lying, huh?!" Kagami stands up, his eyes starting to light on fire. "I don't trust you one bit-"

_BEEP._

The intercom interrupts Kagami. A female voice announces on it: _"Good afternoon. My name is Sakura Hotomiya, your conductor. Since all passengers have been accounted for for more than an hour, we have decided to leave ahead of schedule."_

And so the train starts moving; Kagami, Kise, and Midorima can hear people cheering from other rooms.

Midorima is the first to speak. "So will you listen to me now? I saw someone who matches Kuroko's description enter a room, seemingly by himself, about thirty minutes ago."

"You... you did?" Kagami stammers.

"That's great!" Kise cheers. "Lead us to the room, Midorimacchi!"

Midorima replies, "I don't think it's that simple. I hope you aren't always this hasty. Judged on how angry you got earlier, Kagami, I'm assuming you believe he was kidnapped. When I saw him earlier, I wasn't sure what to think because he had a look of fear on his face. I recognized him, but something else seemed off.

"When I knocked on the door, a stranger opened it. I asked him about Kuroko, and he replied that the name didn't matter anymore because Kuroko has been marked a slave."

"S-so they know that Kurokocchi's a slave..."

Kagami tenses up. _'Marked as a slave'?_ _Were they able to tell because of the symbol on Kuroko's wrist? Then that would be why his wristband, which he always wears, was left behind... someone took it off of him by force!_

"If you're that worried about Kuroko, then why didn't you just get him out right then and there?!" Kagami interrogates.

"The stranger had a gun in his hand. It was subtle, but he was pointing it at Kuroko, who was sitting on a bed with his back to us."

"Oh!" Kise exclaims. "That's a pretty good reason to not fight back!"

"D-did Kuroko look like he was harmed?"

"It was hard to tell from my angle, but he didn't appear to have any severe injuries."

"Good. Then let's go!" Kagami is halfway out the door already.

"Hey, wait!" Midorima interrupts. "Do you really think it's a good idea to just go without a plan?!"

"Well here's the plan: We're gonna go get 'im back right away, dumbass! If you're really on our side, Midorima, then you'll lead us straight there!"

Midorima sighs. "Fine. I will assist you, since I will have to return Kuroko to his friend after this anyhow."

"Wh-who are you talking about, Midorimacchi?"

"I will explain later. ...Wait, _"-cchi"?"_

And so the new trio heads down the cart, led by Midorima. Soon Midorima stops and turns around.

He whispers, "To my left is the room that I saw Kuroko walk into." He pushes back his glasses. "So do we barge in or knock?"

Kagami answers with action. He shoves Midorima out of the way and slides the door open almost instantly.


	7. Mark

Someone is already standing in the doorway, as if expecting a visitor. The stranger (and assumedly Kuroko's kidnapper) is a teenager with black hair covering his left eye, a mole under his right eye. He has grey eyes and is a few inches shorter than Kagami.

And he is smiling as he asks, "You're Kagami Taiga, right?"

_Bastard! _Kagami starts to lunge at him-

"Kagamicchi, stop!"

"Kagami, you idiot!"

_"Kagami-kun!"_

Everyone freezes and peers into the room to find Kuroko sitting on the bed to Kagami's right, with his hands behind his back; probably tied together. And he's completely unharmed!

But before even Kise can sigh with relief, the stranger at the door suddenly points a small handgun at Kuroko's head.

"Come inside."

Everyone, even Kagami, goes inside without hesitation. The stranger and Kuroko sit on one bed, the other three teens on the opposite bed.

Kagami glances over at Kuroko, who is looking off to the side, his eyes drooped in shame.

_Idiot. This is all my fault. It's my fault... that I didn't answer the door this morning...!_

_So it's my responsibility to get you out._

Kuroko, out of the blue, looks back at Kagami, this time with eyes widened in surprise. Kagami, of course, is taken aback by this.

_Wh... does he know what I'm thinking or something?! He's always so expressionless, it's scary sometimes... What if... what if he has ESP?_

The kidnapper interrupts Kagami's ridiculous thoughts.

"My name is Himuro Tatsuya. I was forced to be part of a gang not too long ago, and was told to capture a slave named Kuroko Tetsuya."

"And you expect us to believe your sob-story?" Kagami growls.

Kise is nervously looking at the gun in Himuro's hand. "L-let's just hear him out, Kagamicchi."

Himuro continues: "I don't expect you to believe me, but I thought I would at least tell you my story, or rather an abbreviated version of it." The look on his face is disgustingly pitiful to Kagami. But then he does something that even surprises Midorima.

He leaves the gun on his lap, then proceeds to untie Kuroko's hands. Even Kuroko looks confused. Once Kuroko's hands are free, Himuro picks up the gun, gets up and walks to the window, opens it, and when he closes it the gun is gone. His smile seems much more genuine.

"Himuro Tatsuya failed to bring Kuroko to the leader because he was overtaken by three strong friends of Kuroko in his sleep."

_"...What?!" _Kuroko's friends all shout at once.

Himuro promptly explains himself, his smile slowly turning into a stern frown as he talks. "I had to say that Kuroko's name didn't matter anymore to Midorima in order to convince you all, you see. I had reason to believe that some of the other gang members were on the same cart as I am so they could make sure I was loyal. But since the train is leaving early, I assume I'm the only member on this cart now. However, we should still be cautious. After today, you should have nothing to do with me."

"You bastard!" Kagami grabs Himuro by the scruff of his sweatshirt. "What exactly is your plan?!"

"Kagami-kun, stop! I believe him."

Kagami looks at Kuroko in bewilderment, then slowly lets go of Himuro.

Midorima steps forward. "I somewhat agree with Kuroko. First of all, since there appears to be a gang involved, it might be best not to cause a ruckus on the train. Second of all, Himuro is heading towards Seirin as well. He could very well be our next-door neighbor in a month, so we will have to deal with him either way. And now he has no gun, and we outnumber him. We should just leave him be..." Midorima pushes back his glasses and glares at Himuro. "...for the time being."

"Also," Kise cheerfully adds, "he helped Kuroko get on the train without having problems with security!"

Himuro laughs. "Well, at least I did something right today!"

But Kagami, understandably, is still unwilling to leave- not without learning more about his new enemy. So he asks Himuro a some questions; Himuro answers them without hesitation.

"Why were you told to capture Kuroko?"

"I don't know what the gang is planning. I'm just a rookie, so they won't tell me anything."

_Hmph, of course. I _would_ force information out of him at this point, but... Not only is it clear that everyone else wants to leave this asshole be, but I should also just focus on getting Kuroko out of here and making sure he really isn't hurt. _Then_ this little shit's gonna get it...!_

"How did you know Kuroko was at my house?"

"I was told that he would be staying in Shinkyo, waiting for his master to pick him up at the end of month. I don't know how the gang got the information. But I've heard that the Government keeps official records even on slaves, so they must've found them somehow..."

"Get to the point, Himuro."

"Right, sorry. So I went to Shinkyo and stayed at a motel for a few days. About a week ago, I went to Maji for dinner and saw you yelling at someone for 'not getting enough food', or something like that. Kuroko has very little presence, it would seem, so I didn't notice him until I heard him talking to Kise."

"Wait, so you were spying on us?!"

"It's not every day you see someone order ten burgers for himself. Anyways, Kuroko matched the description of the slave I was supposed to kidnap, so I watched you for a little longer. Then I noticed something black on Kuroko's left wrist as he was putting on his coat to leave. It was _only _on his left wrist, so figured it had to be him. It would make sense for a rogue slave to try to cover his mark, after all."

"His mark...?"

"You haven't noticed yet, Kagami-kun?"

Kuroko steps forward and holds up his wrist.

"Oh!" Kise exclaims. "It's the 'male' symbol, right?"

Kuroko nods. "When I was first brought into slavery, they branded my fore wrist." He pauses. "It proves... that I'm a slave."

* * *

><p>Shortly after the Kagami's interrogation with Himuro, Kuroko and the others drag him out of the room, finally leaving Himuro alone.<p>

"Hmmm," he mutters to himself. "Things are going better than expected."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Here's to Season 3 of KnB! ^_^**


	8. Interesting News

"So you're sure that you're not hurt, Kurokocchi?" Ever since Kagami, Midorima, Kise, and Kuroko had regrouped in Kagami and Kise's room, Kuroko has been constantly questioned by Kise regarding his physical status. Kuroko and Kise sit on one bed, Kagami and Midorima sit on the other.

"Kise-kun, I swear I'm fine. Please stop asking me so many questions. All Himuro did was tie my hands behind my back and kept me in his room the whole time. He didn't do anything else, so please, relax. I was OK the whole time."

Kise is close to tears with relief. "R-really? You're not hurt?"

Kuroko smiles for the first time that day. "I'm alright, Kise-kun."

Kise finally starts wailing obnoxiously as he tightly wraps his arms around Kuroko. _"I'm so relieved, Kurokocchi!"_

But Kuroko isn't annoyed this time. It feels good to know that he has friends that care for him. But he doesn't recognize the green-haired one... He turns to face him when Kise finally calms down and lets go of Kuroko.

"Excuse me, but I don't think we've been acquainted. My name is Kuroko Tetsuya." Kuroko bows his head slightly.

_Aomine wasn't kidding when he said his friend was always so formal and polite to everyone, even towards strangers! _"I am Midorima Shintaro. But let's not dwell on introductions.

"Regardless of whether or not Himuro has good intentions, we should still be wary. Let's make sure that Kuroko stays in one of our rooms as much as possible, and don't talk about him anywhere else."

"But Kurokocchi's been cooped up in Kagamicchi's house all month! That's so cruel, Midorimacchi!" It would seem that Kise has at last wiped his tears.

"I think it's a good idea," says Kagami, "as long as Kuroko's alright with it."

Everyone turns to face Kuroko. After a short pause, he replies, "I'm fine with it, if you think that's best." Kuroko figures that if he can deal with staying inside a house for almost a month, he can handle another inside a single room on a train. If it means that he will be free and safe when he arrives at Seirin, then he can put up with it.

Kise pouts and Midorima says, "Alright, then it's settled." He then rises from the bed and pushes back his glasses. "Now I want you to come with me, Kuroko. There is something we must discuss." He glances at the other two in the room. "And it's best that we do it alone."

Kagami intervenes. "Are you working with Himuro or something? Do you honestly think we'll just trust you with Kuroko after what happened today? We just met you an hour ago!"

"Let me answer a question with a question with a question, then. Do you remember how I told you that I know a friend of Kuroko's that would like to see him again?"

"A friend?" Kuroko interjects. He tilts his head to one side in confusion. "Someone is looking for me?"

"I see I've piqued your interest, Kuroko."

"And you've piqued my suspicion!" Kise exclaims. "We're friends of Kurokocchi too. Why does this have to be done in private?!"

Kagami turns to face Kuroko. "Kuroko. Do you know what this guy's talking about?"

"I don't know," Kuroko replies simply.

"Well then-"

"Wait!" Kuroko's eyes are suddenly wide with realization. He looks at Midorima in shock as he shakily stands up. "It isn't... is it...?"

"Um, Kurokocchi?" Both Kise and Kagami are unnerved to see Kuroko stammer like this.

_"...Aomine-kun?"_

Midorima smiles and nods.

* * *

><p><em>"Achoo! ...*sniffle*..."<em>

_What the hell? Don't tell me I have another cold! _

_Huh? Now my phone's ringing? I got enough on my mind already... Oh, it's Midorima._

"What?"

_"Aomine. I have some interesting news for you."_

"...Well what is it? Spit it out already!"

_"Well, alright. It's about Kuroko."_

"! T-Tetsu?!"

_"Yes. I discovered that he is alive and well. He's sitting right in front of me, actually."_

* * *

><p>"You left Kuroko by himself?!"<p>

"Well, yes," Midorima replies simply. "He said he wanted to talk to Aomine in private, so I left him in my room."

"But what if something else happens to him?! He's been through enough already!" Kagami steps towards the door.

"Relax, Kagami. I put a security camera in there."

_"...Huh?!" _Kise and Kagami shout.

"It doesn't record audio, but it was yesterday's lucky item, so I thought I would put it to good use. We can view it from my phone..."

"'Lucky item'?"

"Sigh, you aren't followers of fate, are you? ...Just forget it. Anyways..." Midorima holds up his phone for the two to see. Sure enough, Kise and Kagami see Kuroko sitting on a bed in Midorima's room from above. The visual quality is, well, horrible, but anyone can tell that he's alone, at least.

"Alright, fine," Kagami sighs, still confused about Midorima's 'lucky items', but satisfied that Kuroko is indeed safe. Everyone sits back down. Kise and Kagami are on one bed, Midorima on the other.

Midorima pushes back his glasses and begins Aomine's/Kuroko's story (from what he knows from this 'Aomine'). "Have either of you heard of the town of Yosen?"

Kise and Kagami tense up.

"So you do know. Well, that's where Kuroko and his friend, Aomine Daiki, used to live. They found themselves caught up in the middle of Teiko's invasion of the Region. Since the town was conquered, they were forced into slavery and were split up. They haven't seen each other since, of course."

"Kurokocchi survived Yosen?!"

Kagami remembers hearing about Yosen on the news in early October (back when his TV still worked). Three-quarters of the population were killed, the rest became slaves...

_No wonder Kuroko seemed so unfazed about his own kidnapping. He's been through a lot worse... _Kagami clenches his fists. _I'm not good enough yet. I need to do a better job of taking care of him...!_

* * *

><p><em>*Beep*<em>

Aomine hangs up after about an hour of talking with Kuroko and sighs as he lays back in his chair.

_So Tetsu's been alive this whole time..._

_Once he gets here, I'll need to redeem myself. I need to do a better job of taking care of him!_

_I can't let us get separated again._


	9. Pure Joy

**A/N: **Sigh, midterms are finally over! Thanks for your patience, everyone! I'll be able to resume updating weekly.

...That's all I have to say, actually. XD So without further ado... Ch 9:

* * *

><p>Midorima continues the story: "Aomine was used for physical labor along with almost a hundred other slaves at a farm. This farm was in a non-free town outside of the Teiko Empire. (For as I'm sure you already know, Teiko already has reached a slave population of over 30%, so they're starting to send slaves to other towns with enough money to buy them.) After a couple of months harvesting vegetables, Teiko invaded the town."<p>

"Teiko again?!" Kise exclaims. "What town was Aominecchi in?"

"...Kagami, I need to ask you something."

"Uh, yeah?"

Midorima's eyes narrow. "What the hell is with 'cchi'?"

Before Kise can retort, Kagami jabs his thumb at him and answers the question. "This moron adds 'cchi' at the end of people's names that he respects."

Kise, having been cut off, crosses his arms and pouts. "There's nothing wrong with that...!"

"Oh... interesting." _The hell did I get into?! _"But wait. Kise. You're saying that you respect someone that you haven't even met yet?"

Kise brightens up. "Well, yes, because Aominecchi is Kurokocchi's friend, right? Any friend of Kurokocchi's is a friend of mine!"

"Hmmm." _Well, at least there's a method to his madness. But he's still a fool. _Midorima pushes back his glasses and finally answers Kise's question. "Aomine did not know what town he was in, so I don't know either.

"Anyways, Teiko invaded. Aomine and some of the other slaves used the chaos to escape. They ran to a free town and managed to get part-time jobs and a shelter... 'of sorts'. When they had saved up enough money, they boarded a train for Seirin and arrived there last month. They have all been living there ever since."

"Hold on," Kagami interrupts. "I thought minors traveling without an adult could only get into the city during the weeks of April 1st and October 1st of every year."

"Not quite, Kagami. They got _Express Tickets _to Seirin."

"Oh, so Aominecchi and the others paid extra to get there sooner!"

"Correct."

"Wow, almost no one bothers to do that! I guess they really hated the town they were in, huh?"

"Yes, they _were _in Toou, after all."

"!Toou?!"

"I've heard some pretty awful things about that town," says Kagami with a grim look on his face. "What's this 'Aomine' really like?"

Midorima pushes back his glasses. "I don't know what Aomine did to survive Toou, but since Kuroko trusts him and has known him for very long time, we'll just have to give Aomine the benefit of the doubt."

The intercom interrupts them once again:

"_The__ dining cart will begin serving food shortly, and will continue to serve dinner until eight o' clock."_

"Hmm, let's check in on Kuroko." Midorima calls up the security cam feed on his phone. "! He's gone?"

"What?! Are you kidding me! Midorima, you good-for-nothing...!" Kagami dashes out the door before anyone can stop him.

He has to slow down to a speed walk as he moves down the isle, however, since everyone seems to be heading for the dining cart.

_That reminds me... Didn't Himuro say that there were other gang members on different carts? I might be able to meet one of them if I head down to the dining cart-_

His cell phone rings, interrupting his thoughts. It's Kise.

"Yeah?"

"Don't worry, Kagamicchi! Kuroko showed up here just now! You must have passed him without noticing!"

"...Of f#*%ing course." _Dammit, why's he so invisible!? _

* * *

><p>And so dinner is brought back to Midorima's room, and the four teens dig in. Everyone is famished after such a long and stressful day, and even Kuroko is eating more than usual. No one speaks until all the food is gone.<p>

And of course Kise is the first to speak: "So Kurokocchi! Do you mind telling us a little bit more about this Aominecchi guy? I mean, you just kind of rushed out with Midorima's phone without saying anything about him earlier! Midorimacchi told us a bit about him, but... um, Kurokocchi?_"_

Kuroko blinks. "Hmm? Oh, sorry, Kise-kun. I didn't get much sleep last night, so I keep spacing out today." He smiles sweetly. "Aomine-kun yelled at me for that when I was talking to him earlier." He then looks at Kagami with the same expression. "I think Kagami-kun and Aomine-kun are very much alike, now that I think about it."

Kagami blushes at the sound of Kuroko's tone. It sounded very affectionate to him. He looks away awkwardly and frowns as he says, "Wh-what's that supposed to mean? Is that a good thing?"

"I don't see why not. Aomine-kun and I are very close friends, after all, and I consider Kagami-kun and everyone else here to be dear friends of mine."

"Does that mean we're all like Aominecchi?"

"No, Kagami-kun and Aomine-kun's _personalities_ are similar," Kuroko explains in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Ohh. ...So, um, will you tell us more about him...?" Kise asks timidly. "! Oh, maybe now's not a good time..."

Kuroko covers his mouth politely as he lets out a small, silent yawn. "No, I don't think it is. I would like to go to bed early, but I promise I will tell you all more tomorrow." Kuroko forces a tired smile towards Kise.

* * *

><p>"Midorima says that his roommate never showed up, so we can easily put you in his room, if that's alright." It's eight o' clock, and Kagami talks to Kuroko, who just stepped out of the men's bathroom at one of the ends of the cart.<p>

Kuroko nods in response. "I'm okay with that. Oh, and Kagami-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"First of all, thank you for bringing my luggage. I was worried about it since Himuro-san wouldn't let me bring anything."

_Tch! He's using honorifics in front of that bastard's name?! _Kagami can't get over how polite Kuroko is, even towards assholes!

"But..."

"Huh?" Kagami looks down and is startled to see a pained expression on Kuroko's face.

"There's something else I left behind... I was wondering if you found it before you left-"

"Aw, dammit! I forgot!" Kagami immediately shoves his hand into his pocket and quickly pulls out Kuroko's wristband.

Suddenly, Kagami finds himself being embraced by Kuroko, the smaller teen's head buried in the larger one's chest.

"Wha- _Huh?!" _Before Kagami can even react (in a less vocally spastic manner), Kuroko lets go and smiles up at him as he takes the wristband out of Kagami's hand.

Kuroko's eyes are glowing with pure joy as he says, "Thank you, Kagami-kun. This means more than you know."

And with that, Kuroko turns and walks back to Midorima's room, leaving Kagami speechless. ...And his face feels warm again. How odd.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Welp, a bunch of new info was thrown at you (kind of), and I'm afraid some of the dialogue might've seemed a little awkward as a result. So let me clear up a couple of things here:

First of all, when Midorima says a town is 'free', that means the town has outlawed slavery. So a 'non-free' or 'slave(ery)' town would be a town that has legalized slavery.

And second of all, well, you're starting to learn more about the world the characters live in. You know that the Teiko Empire is made up of a bunch of assholes that destroy towns and force survivors into slavery. You're also starting to learn more about other towns under the rule of the Government (outside of the Teiko Empire). I'm trying to explain things through the dialogue as I go rather than write a huge history lesson all at once at the beginning of the story, cuz that'd just be boring.

Things will be explained in greater detail and should make a lot more sense once Kuroko and the others arrive in Seirin. (Which I'm predicting will be in a few more chapters.)

...And that's that. So goodbye 'n stuff!


	10. Bedhead

**A/N: Happy Birthday, Kuroko-kun! :D**

* * *

><p>"Haizaki. You wanted something?"<p>

"Yeah. Boss seems to be happy about you getting Kuroko on your side, Tatsuya. So now he wants you to keep luring him 'into the spider web', or something like that.

"But just remember... Boss told me that once we're done with this... _that slave is all mine!"_

* * *

><p>"Kagami."<p>

"Hmm?"

It's the next morning, and Kagami is stopped by Midorima in front of his room on his way to the dining cart for breakfast.

"Kuroko is still not up yet."

"What! He's that tired?"

"Apparently so." Midorima pushes back his glasses. "So when you get back from breakfast, bring something back for Kuroko, then stay with him so I can get breakfast."

"Alright." Kagami doesn't care one way or another, and he's still willing to go along with their plan of keeping Kuroko under as much supervision as possible.

"By the way, where's Kise?"

"He already had breakfast. He's still in the bathroom, though. I think he's taking a shower. Why, did you need him for something?"

"Not particularly. I'm just trying to avoid him today, that's all."

Kagami raises an eyebrow. "Whadya mean by that? I mean, I try avoiding him too, but..."

"Oha Asa said that I will have more trouble with Gemini than usual today," Midorima replies simply.

"Huh?"

"It's a horoscope I listen to every day. It is _always _correct."

"Oh..." _Is that what he meant when he mentioned 'followers of fate' yesterday? What a weirdo._

"But wait, you know Kise's birthday already?"

"But of course. In order to follow fate, I must know the signs of those around me, so I asked him what his sign is last night. He cheerfully told me that he is a Gemini and that you are a Leo. I just need to ask Kuroko about his sign later, since it would seem that neither of you know when his birthday is."

* * *

><p><em>Come to think of it, that's right... we don't really know much about Kuroko, do we? He might've had his birthday while staying with us and we didn't even realize it! We now know a little about this Aomine guy, but where's Kuroko from? When's his birthday? How old is he exactly? ...And why am I suddenly so interested!?<em>

Kagami ponders these things as he heads back to Midorima's room with some cereal and a vanilla milkshake for Kuroko's breakfast.

"Good. You're finally here," Midorima says as he slides open the door. Kagami didn't even have to knock.

"Tch. Nice to see you too." And with that, they trade places.

"Good morning, Kagami-kun."

"Morning." Kagami looks away as he hands Kuroko the food and shake, still feeling awkward around him after what happened the night before. When Kagami feels the items leave his hands, he finally looks at Kuroko, who seems pleasantly surprised to be holding a vanilla milkshake. But then something just above his forehead catches his eye...

"Thank you, Kagami-kun-"

_"Whoa! Y-your hair! What the hell, Kuroko!? Is that really your bedhead?"_

Kuroko's bedhead is truly spectacular. It's as though his hair just went through a vacuum from different directions. Kagami could never imagine one's hair to get so spiky and crazy without the use of gel!

Kuroko, startled by Kagami's reaction, pauses before replying. "Y...yes. This is what my hair always looks like in the morning. You never noticed?"

"Of course not! You're always dressed and ready for the day when I first see you in the morning!"

"Kise-kun took a picture of my bedhead one time. I think he still has it set as his wallpaper on his phone."

_"! What!?"_

* * *

><p>"So, Kurokocchi! Will you tell us more about Aominecchi now?"<p>

At around one o' clock, Kuroko and the others gather in Kise and Kagami's room for lunch. And as usual, Kise is the one to start the conversation.

"Oh, right. I did say I would tell you more, didn't I?" Kuroko replies. "But now that I think about it... there isn't that much else to say about him."

"Huh? But you promised, Kurokocchi!"

"Well, what exactly do you want to know, Kise-kun? Aomine-kun is a close friend of mine. You'll be able to meet him in person when we arrive in Seirin. Midorima informed me of what he told you yesterday, so what else do you need to know?"

"Well, I just wanna know more about his personality, I guess-"

"Kuroko, when's your birthday?"

Everyone falls silent and looks at Kagami.

"Isn't _that _more useful information?" Kagami asks with a serious face.

"...January 31st," Kuroko replies. "Aomine-kun's birthday is on August 31st." He looks around the room at everyone, then asks, "So when does everyone else have their birthday?"

Kagami replies, "Mine is on August 2nd. I'm 16 years old."

"I was born on June 18th!" Kise chimes in. "I'm 16 too!"

Midorima pushes back his glasses. _I think I see what you're doing here, Kagami. It's pathetic to see how little you know about Kuroko. You're lucky that this train has to go around Teiko to get to Sierin, so you have almost a month to learn more about Kuroko before meeting Aomine._ "I am a Cancer, born on July 7th, 16 years old."

"...Well, Kurokocchi? How old are you and Aominecchi?"

Kuroko swallows a bite of salad. "We are both 16."

"Wow, we're all the same age! That's cool!"

"Shut up, Kise."

"Wha-? You're so mean, Midorimacchi!"

"And _you _are obnoxious. ...And stop calling me that! The 'cchi' is really starting to irritate me."

"But Midorimacchi is Midorimacchi...!"

And so an argument erupts between the two. Kagami is about to shut them up when he realizes that Kuroko is no longer sitting across from him. In fact, he doesn't appear to be in the room at all. Midorima and Kise don't even notice Kagami slip out.

_Dammit, Kuroko! Why are you so invisible!? _Kagami looks up and down the isle, but Kuroko is no where to be seen-

"Is Kagami-kun looking for me?"

_"Gah!" _Kagami looks to his right, and of course, there's Kuroko, standing right next to him and looking back up at him with a concerned look.

"I was just going to use the bathroom. I didn't think I would be missed, since they started fighting."

Kagami feels a pang in his stomach. "Whadya mean, you wouldn't be missed?"

"Well, I was only going to be gone for a few minutes," Kuroko replies simply.

"...A few minutes to you is way too long for someone else."

Kuroko tilts his head innocently. "What do you mean?"

"...Hmm? ! Uh, n-nothing..." _Why did I even say that? What's wrong with me?_

Kagami's face heats up, once again, as he avoids Kuroko's eyes and quickly says, "Um, I need to go too. Besides, we agreed that you would always be with one of us, right?"

"Oh, that's right. Sorry, Kagami-kun. I wasn't thinking." Kuroko bows.

"D-don't worry about it!"

He's smiling when he stands up straight again. "You said you needed to go, right? Hopefully Kise-kun and Midorima-kun will be done fighting when we get back."

"...Yeah..."

And so they walk down the isle together; Kagami feels oddly relieved to know that Kuroko is right by his side.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **In case any of you are starting to get impatient, we're just about done with the "train" chapters. I'm sorry that the pace of this story is slow! But I felt like there needed to be several chapters like this, otherwise the story would be rushed. Since it takes them a whole month to get to Sierin, I figured that it would make more sense to create some character development along the way (especially between Kagami and Kuroko ;D), during the transition from Shinkyo to Seirin. The pace of things should start to pick up in a couple of chapters, though!

And by the way, since it's already been ten chapters, I'd like to know what you guys think so far! So **please** feel free to leave a review or PM me, and be honest (without being rude, of course)! I would really appreciate the feedback!

Thanks for reading!


	11. Jealousy

**A/N: **There's a huge time jump at the beginning of this chapter, but don't worry. You didn't miss much. The characters didn't really do much. They just... uh... played card games (?) for a few weeks... And Himuro... wasn't up to much... He, um... spied on Kuroko (?!)... cuz he's adorable! So _there! _Nothing important happened! I assure you! (Although Kuroko might need to use a restraining order soon... 0_0)

* * *

><p>Almost three weeks later... (it's mid-March)<p>

_"_I can't believe that Kuroko can sleep through this," Kagami states in wonder. He and Kise are in their room, watching Kuroko sleep peacefully on one of the beds, despite the train's sudden acceleration in the early afternoon.

The train had sped up due to Teiko's invasion of yet another town: Shutoku, which the train was passing from just twenty miles away. Thankfully, nothing had happened yet, and the train is almost past the town. No one can see any signs of an invasion from any windows (they are currently in a wooded area), but the threat Teiko poses is undeniable, so as soon as word got out on the news, the train accelerated.

"Kurokocchi's so cute when he sleeps!" Kise cheers in a hushed voice. He then turns to face Kagami, who is sitting next to him on the other bed. "Have you seen his bedhead yet?"

Kagami snickers. "Yeah, I have. It's quite a sight."

"Hey, look!" Kise shoves his phone close to Kagami's face, and Kagami suddenly sees what Kuroko was talking about a few weeks back...

"You... you really _did _take a picture of him!" And of course Kuroko's lovely bedhead fills up the entire screen... and is set as the wallpaper. He appears to be sitting in Kagami's guest room's bed, rubbing one eye with an adorable, sleepy expression on his face. Kagami then finds himself looking at the present, real Kuroko in front of him, who is still fast asleep. He watches the shorter teen's chest slowly move up... and down... up... down-

"Huh?" Something feels different. "Hey, Kise, is it just me, or are we starting to slow down?"

They look out the window, and sure enough, the trees aren't passing by in as much of a blur as before.

And then the intercom beeps: "_This is your conductor speaking. We would like to assure you that we are currently past any danger areas around Shutoku and we are safe to slow back down to our regular speed to avoid wasting fuel."  
><em>

Kise and Kagami let out a sigh of relief. ...And Kuroko is still asleep...

"Geez, how can he sleep through all this?" Kagami wonders out loud. "I mean, he's been napping for over an hour now..."

"He didn't seem tired this morning..." Kise says with a concerned look. "I'm gonna wake him up. It's not healthy to sleep so much!"

Kise gets up and walks over to the other bed. He places his hand on Kuroko's shoulder and gently shakes him. "Hey, Kurokocchi. Kurokocchi, wake up!"

"Mmmph..." Kuroko mumbles as his eyes flutter open.

By now, Kagami has walked over and is standing next to Kise. He doesn't know why, but he really wants to be one of the first people Kuroko sees when he wakes up.

Kuroko's eyes are now fully open. They look groggy, but he's indeed waking up. His eyes shift over to Kagami, and the first thing he says in a sleepy, distant voice is:

"Good morning, Aomine-kun."

* * *

><p>"...Kagami-kun?"<p>

A few minutes later, Kagami hears a soft voice say his name while he's sitting at a booth in the dining cart, waiting for his steak.

"Hmm...? Gah!" His heart stops for a moment when he sees the blue-haired teen sitting across from him. "Jeez, Kuroko, we need to put a bell on you!"

"Kise-kun already offered that solution, and I declined."

"I think we should _force _it on you, then," Kagami mumbles.

"What was that, Kagami-kun?"

"Nothing..."

After a short pause, Kuroko speaks again, looking concerned this time: "Kagami-kun, are you angry at me? You just stormed out when I woke up... Is it because I mixed you up with Aomine-kun?"

Kagami tenses up. He doesn't know why, but he feels so... _irritated _whenever that name pops up in conversation.

He shifts in his seat and sighs. "Are we really that much alike?"

"I think so. Why else would I get you mixed up?" Kuroko then bows his head suddenly. "I apologize, Kagami-kun."

"Wha... Why do you apologize so much!?"

Kuroko looks up in surprise. "But... it's obvious that I offended you..."

"Well don't worry about it! ...I forgive you."

Kuroko's face lights up. "Thank you... _Kagami-kun." _

Kagami blushes and quickly looks out the window.

"Um... Did you order a drink with your meal yet?" Kuroko asks timidly.

"Uh, no, not yet... why?" Kagami finally looks back at Kuroko, who is looking anywhere but back at Kagami.

"Well, I would like a vanilla shake, if that's alright..."

Kagami just stares at Kuroko for a moment. Then he laughs.

"I don't understand, Kagami-kun. What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing..." And with that, the waiter comes with Kagami's steak, and Kuroko gets his wish.

* * *

><p>After dinner with everyone in Midorima's room, Kise is, once again, the first to speak: "So Midorimacchi! I just realized something: we don't know how you know Aominecchi!"<p>

Everyone pauses, thinking about this.

"You know, come to think of it, that's true..." Kagami says suspiciously. "Why are you even on this train?"

Midorima pushes back his glasses before he replies. "I was born and raised in Seirin, so I met Aomine when he started attending my high school. February is our winter break, so I visited my cousins for a few weeks in Seiho, which is near Shinkyo. I then ordered the train tickets for Seirin from Shinkyo. _That _is why I am on this train."

Everyone says a unified "ohh...", and then Kuroko speaks: "That reminds me. I have something to tell you all."

The rest of the teens listen more intently than they did to Midorima. Kuroko rarely speaks on his own accord, so it must be important, right?

"It has to do with what will happen when we get to Seirin. You all know that we will be assigned dorms near the high school that we will attend, right?"

"Oh yeah, that's right! I hope we can be roommates, Kurokocchi!"

Kagami grunts in annoyance (and jealousy) at Kise's outburst.

"No, I won't be rooming with any of you."

_"What!?" _Kagami shouts.

Everyone stares at him in surprise. Kagami quickly reacts: "...Um, I mean, wouldn't it be better if we stuck together...? Since we lived in the same house for almost a month, I mean! It would be easier rooming with someone you know, right?"

Much to Kagami's relief, Midorima agrees. "That's understandable. Kuroko, don't you know that you can request who you room with?"

"Yes, I know. But Aomine-kun called today, and we decided that we will room together," Kuroko replies with a smile.


	12. For Their Own Pleasure

**A/N:** Thanks to my sudden writing fever plus a snow day, here's an early update!

Also, thank you for the reviews, AikahisakatuHogo-sha and kurie-tibiti! They really made me smile (and trust me, that's saying a lot, since I read them first thing in the morning on a school day, when usually nothing can cheer me up)!

* * *

><p><em>Finally, the date is Sunday, March 29th, 2015. It's time to start anew in Seirin... after the passengers actually get into the city, that is. They first have to get off the train in one piece, of course...<em>

"Ready to go, Kuroko?" Kagami is standing outside of his room, waiting for Kuroko to finish getting dressed.

Shortly after Kagami speaks, the door slides open, and Kuroko is indeed ready to go. But before they leave...

"K-Kagami-kun...?" Kuroko looks up at the redhead with a confused look. After all, who wouldn't be surprised if someone just randomly grabbed his/her hand tightly without warning?

Kagami, with a red face, looks away from Kuroko and mumbles something about not wanting to get separated since Kuroko has so little presence. Kuroko can understand why Kagami is worried (Midorima had already rushed off the train to hunt down Kise earlier in the morning, who had left early), so he accepted the precaution without any further thought. And with that, the two of them traverse through the cart and find their way off the train with surprisingly little difficulty. It would seem that most of the passengers had already left.

Getting to the Gates will be the tricky part. Kuroko, being vertically challenged, can barely see a few tall buildings in the distance beyond the mass of people right in front of him, but that's about it. When he sees them, though, his heart starts to pound with excitement.

_When was the last time my heart pounded like this? ...That's right, it was when they branded my fore wrist in Yosen. But that was from fear..._ Kuroko finds himself smiling. He feels true hope for the first time in months. _I'll be free _and_ able to see Aomine-kun again...! _

Kagami grips Kuroko's hand a little tighter, and they squeeze their way through the crowd of people. Since Kagami has ID and Kuroko can easily be proven to be slave because of his mark, they can go straight to the Gates without having to wait in line for ID registration... Well, if anyone could call what they're trying to get through a "line"...

_"Ooofff-! Ah- 'scuse us!"_

Somehow, they get through. After bulldozing their way through the crowd and nearly running some people over, they miraculously get through.

Kuroko can finally actually see the Gates. They sort of look like an outdoor airport: lots of long lines, metal detectors, conveyer belts, and security guards. Everywhere.

"Kagami-kun, I think it's safe to let go of me now," Kuroko speaks up. Kagami had increasingly tightened his grip on him, and it's starting to become slightly painful for him.

"Oh! R-right, sorry..." Kagami reluctantly lets go.

"Well, this is where we have to part ways for a while, Kagami-kun."

"Huh?!" Kagami looks down at Kuroko in shock. "Wh-whadya mean by that?"

"Aomine-kun has already registered me as his roommate, so I have to go and confirm my identification," Kuroko replies simply. "It's just over there." Kuroko turns around and points ahead to a much shorter line. At the front of it is a desk with a sign reading: 'Pre-Registered Citizens.'

Kagami laughs. "Is that what 'pre-registration' really is?"

"I'm not sure if that's really correct either, but Aomine-kun said to go there, so..." Kuroko shrugs.

Seeing that the desk isn't very far away, Kagami lets Kuroko go, then finds his way into a much longer line. The one for 'unregistered' citizens. After a few minutes, he notices that none other than Himuro is in front of him.

* * *

><p>"Next!" the young lady at the 'pre-registered' desk shouts. She doesn't seem to notice Kuroko...<p>

"Um, excuse me..."

"Hmm? Oh! S-sorry!" She clears her throat and smiles. "My name is Riko. I'm going to ask you a few questions before you can be let through, alright?"

"I understand," Kuroko nods.

"So for starters, what's your name?" She adjusts the pins in her short, caramel-colored hair as she waits for her computer to load something.

"I am Kuroko Tetsuya."

"Hmm... Hold on a second, my laptop's been slow today... Ah, there we go, _finally! _Now I can search your name... there you are!" Riko suddenly seems to be in an even better mood. Kuroko can see a certain glow in her eyes as her hands jump onto the keyboard. "When's your birthday, and how old are you, Kuroko-kun?"

"I'm 16, and my birthday is on January 31st."

Riko nods. "That looks right... And who registered you?"

"Aomine Daiki-kun."

Riko smiles again. "Perfect! Everything matches up here. Do you have ID?"

"No..." Kuroko slowly takes off his wristband and shows his mark to Riko. Thankfully, any slave can be allowed entry to Seirin without needing ID.

Riko's eyes widen and she gives Kuroko a sympathetic look. "Ah, then you're excused from that..." She then types something on her laptop as Kuroko puts his wristband back on. "Now you're officially all set, Kuroko-kun!" Riko cheers with a bright smile.

* * *

><p>"Himuro, you bastard..." Kagami grumbles.<p>

Himuro winces and turns around, looking surprised. He relaxes when he sees who it is. _Thank goodness! I thought that was Haizaki talking! _"Ah, we meet again, Kagami-kun."

"Don't give me that! Don't think we're all buddy-buddy just because you let Kuroko go!"

"Well, no, I'm not suggesting we should be friends... By the way," Himuro looks around as if he's afraid of being heard. Then he faces Kagami again and lowers his voice, "have you run into any suspicious characters on the train since we last met?"

"Uh, no, not that I can think of..." Kagami scratches the back of his head and scowls. "Other than you, of course."

Himuro smiles. "Oh, good, that's a relief! I think some of the other gang members are trying to get Kuroko for themselves rather than capturing him for the boss."

Kagami raises an eyebrow. "'Get Kuroko for themselves'? What the hell does that mean?!"

"...*sigh*, listen: Some of the members are gay and... well, you know." Himuro's eyes narrow when he sees Kagami's blank expression. "Don't you see what I'm trying to say, Kagami? _They want to take Kuroko-kun for their own pleasure."_

* * *

><p>Kuroko is past the Inspection process (he walked through a metal detector, and his backpack was searched for any contraband), so now he is in line for getting his ID card. He suddenly notices his phone vibrating...<p>

"Aomine-kun!" He eagerly flips it open and answers the call.

_"Hey, Tetsu, are you in the actual city yet?"_

"No, not yet..." Kuroko peers at the line in front of him. "I think I'll get my ID in about a half hour."

_"Great! I'm waiting just outside the Gates, so..." _There's a pause.

"...Aomine-kun? Is something wrong?"

_"! Uh, n-nothing... So I guess I'll see you in a bit, right?"_

Kuroko beams. "Right. ...Say, Aomine-kun?"

_"...Yeah?"_

"I think that we should talk in a more private location once I get in. We have a lot of catching up to do (I haven't even told you much about Kagami-kun yet!), and it would be annoying if we got interrupted."

_"...Alright, then. Make a left as soon as you get in. There's a park with a jungle gym right there, there's no way you can miss it. Just keep walking forward from there, OK?"_

"Understood."


	13. 30 Minutes

**A/N: **I just _had to_ post **chapter 13 on Friday the 13th. **I'm sorry, but I just _had _to.

Oh, and don't worry, Hogo-sha! (in response to your most recent review) Aomine would never hurt Kuroko! Unlike some other fan fics I've read/seen/heard of with Aomine in it, I made Aomine _not _impulsive and violent in this story! You're welcome, Kuroko! ;D

* * *

><p>"Hey, Tetsu, are you in the actual city yet?"<p>

_"No, not yet... I think I'll get my ID in about a half hour."_

_Thirty minutes... I've been waiting for this moment for so long... and now we're almost there... it's..._

"Great! I'm just outside the Gates, so..." Aomine's voice fails him at the end. He hastily wipes his eyes with his sleeve, embarrassed to realize that he's starting to cry in public.

_"...Aomine-kun? Is something wrong?"_

_! ...Tetsu..._ "Uh, n-nothing... So I guess I'll see you in a bit, right?"

_"Right." _

_He's all I have left... And I'm only thirty minutes away from seeing him again..._

* * *

><p><em>"Don't you see what I'm trying to say, Kagami? <em>**_They want to take Kuroko-kun for their own pleasure."_**

Remembering Himuro's words, Kagami hurriedly takes out his phone to call Kuroko after he gets in line for his ID card (even though he already has ID, he needs to renew it as an official citizen of Seirin.

_C'mon, Kuroko, pick it up...! _

_"Hello? Kagami-kun?"_

Kagami lets out a sigh of relief. Kuroko's obviously alright, since he's speaking in his usual monotone voice. "Hey, Kuroko. Are you past the Gates yet?"

_"Yes, I just got in... I'm about to go meet up with Aomine-kun for a while. We have a lot of catching up to do, so I don't know how long it'll take..."_

_Argh, why didn't he 'catch up' with Aomine when he was calling him on the train?! _Kagami manages to hold back an exasperated groan as he says: "Oh, OK... Is he... coming to meet you?"

_"No, he told me where to go to meet him. It's not very far away, so please don't worry."_

"! I-I never said I was worried!"

_"But you sound like you are. Is something troubling you?"_

"Um, no... I was just, you know, checking in on you..."

_"...Well, I appreciate that, Kagami-kun. Thank you."_

Kagami's face feels warm for the 50th time that day. "S-sure, no problem..." Then he remembers something and smiles. "So how do you enjoy being free?"

_"Hmmm... I don't really feel that different yet... I'm beginning to think that I was freed when I first met Kise-kun and you."_

"...Kuroko..."

_"...Well, anyways, I'm going to meet up with Aomine-kun now; I don't want to keep him waiting, so goodbye."_

"Yeah... bye."

_*beep*_

* * *

><p>Kuroko suddenly finds himself in a forest rather than a park with a jungle gym. But he knows that he took the exact route Aomine told him to take, so he assumes that this must be part of the park.<p>

_It's hard to believe I'm still in a city..._

Indeed, the many trees surrounding him are tall and majestic, their branches gently swaying in the breeze. The cherry blossoms are almost in full bloom...

_That's right, it's almost April... This will look even more spectacular when I go to school..._

Kuroko keeps walking forward underneath a sea that's almost completely pink. A few minutes later, he sees a familiar sight...

_It's just like Aomine-kun's birthday... I wonder what kind of dream he's having..._

Not wanting to disturb the peace, a teary-eyed Kuroko quietly walks over to the base of the tree and sits next to a napping Aomine.

* * *

><p>Kagami finally walks through the Gates at about 2:30. Well, let's see... There's a park to his left, and everything else looks like a typical thriving city. Although because of Teiko's recent aggressive behavior, these kinds of places are harder to find these days...<p>

He appears to be in a plaza of some kind. It's not very big, but it radiates an energetic, lively aura. The plaza is set up with lots of little booths and shops with food, games, and basically anything one could find at a good dollar store. It's obviously set up like this to welcome the new residents.

But Kagami doesn't have time to explore at the moment. He takes his new ID card out of his pocket and looks for his dorm information:

_North-West High School_

_Building #8_

_Room #10 _

_Single_

An assembly at his assigned high school will be held tomorrow to discuss the grade placement process, so he has the whole day to get settled... and find Kuroko and meet this 'Aomine'... and, wait, isn't he forgetting something?

_Oh, shit! Kise and Midorima!_

And literally, just as Kagami shouts their names in his mind, he suddenly sees Kise dashing towards him from a distance with his usual creepy and obnoxious grin. Kagami instinctively reacts by freaking out and starting to run away in the opposite direction, but he doesn't get very far before he collides with none other than Midorima.

It's a miracle that neither of them fall down. Instead, they stagger backward, feeling the pain in their sides from the impact, and then give each other death stares. Just before Kagami can make his dark thoughts a reality, something in Midorima's left hand catches his eye...

"What the hell is that!? Why are you carrying around a stuffed frog!?"

Midorima blinks in mild surprise. He looks down at the frog and replies simply, "According to Oha Asa, Mr. Ribbit is today's lucky item. There was an Oha Asa booth here, so I took advantage of the situation-"

Kagami bursts into laughter (who wouldn't?), interrupting Midorima. Before Midorima has a chance to make _his _dark thoughts a reality, Kise conveniently jumps in between them.

"Hey, Kagamicchi! ...Wait..." His eyes droop like a sad puppy's. "Where's Kurokocchi...?"

At the sound of Kuroko's name, Kagami instantly recovers from his laughing fit and replies grumpily, "He said he was gonna go 'catch up' with Aomine."

"Oh, OK... That reminds me, Kagamicchi, why didn't you call me earlier? Once Midoriamacchi found me, we've been looking all over the plaza for you and Kurokocchi!"

"Huh? Why didn't _you _call _me, _then?"

"Well, I never got around to getting Kurokocchi's number... And then yesterday, when I was deleting some pictures, I accidently deleted your contact info..."

"...Wait... WHAT?! HOW DO YOU DO THAT FROM DELETING JUST PICTURES!?"

Kise casusally shrugs. "I dunno, it just happened... somehow."

Kagami lets out an exasperated groan. "Argh, whatever, I'll send you a text later..."

"You know, Kagamicchi..." Kise's face suddenly turns from innocent to sly and mocking. "You don't seem too worried about us... You were calling _Kurokocchi _more, right?"

"Wh-what!?" Kagami fails to stop his face from turning beet-red. "What do you... whadya mean by that?"

"Oh, you know what I mean, Kagamicchi... _You_ _like him, don't you?"_

"What? Tch, yeah right...!"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Kagami," says Midorima. "This city has legalized same-sex marriage."

"Y-you know too, Midorima!?" Then Kagami, being the baka he is, realizes that he just revealed his feelings. "Uh, I mean, um-!"

Kise throws his head back and laughs. "Don't worry, Kagamicchi, we're not gonna tell anyone! And I think you two would make a cute couple!"

Kagami is relieved to know that Kise isn't totally mortifying him, but he catches Midorima smirk as he pushes back his glasses, causing Kagami's face to practically explode into all shades of red known to man, this time anger on top of embarrassment.

Midorima's smirk is gone when he speaks, though. "Listen, Kagami. You made your feelings toward Kuroko rather obvious on the train, and you seem like you genuinely have good intentions, so I won't necessarily try to stop you from trying to win his heart. But just know that I know Aomine well enough to say that he is far more passionate, and, at the moment, is far better suited for Kuroko than you."


	14. How could I ever hate you?

**A/N:** Happy Valentine's Day! May all of your shipping dreams come true...

It seems that I'm able to type surprisingly quickly. But of course, these ideas happened to come to me surprisingly quickly...

I know this is supposed to be a holiday about love, but the... thing... I just wrote isn't very uplifting until the very end... Well, I felt like I had to do _something _for today, and something like this would probably be written eventually anyway.

So the lovey-dovey part of this is: the fact that Aomine really loves Kuroko and wants more than anything to keep him safe by his side... so much that Aomine has weird dreams resembling the past about losing him...

* * *

><p><em>"Aomine-kun!"<em>

"Hmmm...?"

Aomine opens his eyes and finds himself back home in Yosen. Today is his birthday, and he is taking a well-deserved nap after stuffing himself with cake.

On the outskirts of the city, there is an open field with a few trees here and there... Aomine sits up against one of them in its shade.

_"AOMINE-KUN!"_

"Gah!" Aomine quickly stands up, startled and now fully awake. _He never screams that loud... except for that one time during the invasion..._

His eyes scan the field, but Kuroko is nowhere to be found. _Well, this is a pretty sucky birthday-_

**_BAM_**

"TETSU?!" _A gun shot!? From right behind me?_

Aomine whips around and sprints past the tree, out into the unknown.

_How did it get dark so quickly...? The moon's already out! ...The stars really are impressive without the city lights, though... Have I really been running for that long? I'm not even tired... but even if I were, I've got to find Tetsu!_

The field stretches on endlessly. There are no trees. No animals or people. No insects. Nothing except the sound of Aomine's ever-running footsteps can be heard.

"Tetsu! Tetsu, where are you!?"

He finally stops running rather abruptly. His legs won't move. He looks down and realizes that pale arms are wrapped around his ankles from behind. He slowly looks up, trying to summon the courage to look behind him after a few deep breaths, but he doesn't even get to the breathing part when he sees that Kuroko is right there in front of him. Since the moon is at Aomine's back, Kuroko's pale skin seems to shine... and the blood dripping from his left wrist stands out...

"T-Tetsu...? What happened?" Aomine tries to step forward, but his legs still won't move. When he looks down at them, the arms are gone. _But he still can't move._

_"Aomine-kun, I have a confession to make."_

Aomine slowly raises his head to find Kuroko's wrists and ankles bound by chains. His eyes are depraved of life, and he speaks in a robotic, yet desperate tone:

_"I'm... I'm... done..."_

Aomine opens his mouth, but he cannot speak. His arms can't reach Kuroko, even thought he's _right there_. _**And he still can't move.**_

_**"I'm... done with this..." **_Kuroko's eyes shine with tears, but they still look lifeless. The tears turn into a thick, purple substance as they slowly roll down his cheeks...

_**"WHY DID YOU STOP ME. WHY DID YOU DO THAT. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU SO MUCH! I JUST WANT TO LEAVE ALREADY!"**_

The purple substance enters his mouth...

Kuroko smiles. _"Finally... Aomine-kun... AOMINE-KUN..."_

* * *

><p>"AOMINE-KUN, WAKE UP!"<p>

And suddenly, Aomine is back in the forest of almost fully-bloomed cherry blossoms, being shaken by the real Kuroko, who is sitting next to him with a concerned look on his face.

Their eyes meet for the first time in months. After a short pause, Kuroko finally speaks with a teary smile: "Good morning, Aomine-kun."

"Tetsu..." And they embrace, softly weeping.

"T...Tetsu... you don't hate me, do you?"

Kuroko squirms out of Aomine's arms and looks up at him in surprise.

"What do you mean, Aomine-kun? How could I ever hate you?" He raises his left hand in a fist. "You still have this, right?" he asks, referring to his wristband.

Aomine blinks and slowly lifts his left hand in a fist. Each with a black wristband, they complete the fist bump.

For the first time in months, everything seems right with their world...


	15. Bakagami

"Hey! You're saying that I'm not good enough for Kuroko?!" Kagami growls at Midorima.

Midorima pushes back his glasses. "What else could I mean by that? But I'm not going to stop you from pursuing Kuroko- I'm just letting you know that a baka such as yourself won't be able to get very close to him right now."

Kagami lunges at Midorima-

"After all, you really don't know that much about him, now do you? How much have you told him about yourself?"

Kagami stops in his tracks, inches from Midorima. Midorima smirks in response. "You really are pathetic, Kagami. I doubt you even know about his amnesia."

"! His... amnesia!?" Kise and Kagami shout in unison.

"So you don't know... I'm sure either Aomine or Kuroko will tell you later today at some point."

"Well why can't _you _tell us _now?!_" Kagami exclaims.

"I don't know all of the details, so I think it's best that you hear it from them-" A ringing sound interrupts Midorima.

"Hey! Kurokocchi's calling me! ...Hi, Kurokocchi! Did you find Aominecchi? ...Great! ...Oh yeah! We should definitely go! We're at the plaza by the Gates where we came in, so... OK, we'll see you soon!"

Kise hangs up and turns to Kagami and Midorima. "Kurokocchi says he's ready to meet up with us! He'll introduce Aominecchi, and then we can make our way to the fair!"

"Huh?" Kagami raises an eyebrow. "What fair?"

"Baka," Midorima mumbles, making Kagami think dark thoughts again. Midorima continues, however, interrupting those thoughts. "A fair is being held at the city's Central Plazas to welcome the residents. The closest one to us is the North-West Central Plaza, but that's still close to a hundred miles away. We'll have to make our way there by subway within the hour if we want to get there by six."

As Kagami's mind gawks at how big the city seems, Kise cheers, "Don't worry, Midorimacchi! I see Kurokocchi already!" He eagerly points in the park's general direction.

"Wait, you can actually _see _him?" Kagami asks in disbelief. "He has no presence!"

"Yeah, but after being around him enough, I find that I'm able to notice him a lot faster!" Kise replies.

"Hmmm, even Kise may be better suited for Kuroko," Midorima says softly so that only Kagami can hear.

"Sh-shut up!"

Kise waves his arms around. "Hey, Kurokocchi! We're over here!"

Kagami looks in the park's direction more closely, and sure enough, Kuroko is walking towards them with a taller and very tan teen by his side, who Kagami assumes must be Aomine. As the duo gets closer, Kagami can see that Aomine has short, dark blue hair and eyes of the same color and shade.

When the two groups are standing right in front of each other, Aomine, who seems to have a very relaxed aura about him, speaks casually in a deep voice: "Hey, Midorima. Thanks for telling me about Tetsu."

"Don't mention it."

_'Tetsu?' _Kagami clenches his fists. _Just how close are they?_

Kuroko, smiling, steps forward and gestures toward Kise. "Aomine-kun, this is Kise-kun."

Aomine nods, and Kise waves enthusiastically.

Kuroko then gestures toward Kagami. "And this is Kagami-kun."

Aomine and Kagami nod in unison. Aomine looks a little taken aback by Kagami's glare, but he doesn't say anything. _Eh, I'm too tired to deal with an asshole like him right now._

Midorima pushes back his glasses and impatiently reminds everyone that they should hurry to the subway for the fair.

"Let's see, it's 3:30 right now..." Kise points out, checking his watch. "Will it really take two and a half hours to get there, Midorimacchi?"

"Given how many people will be using the subway today because of the festivities... I'd say it's a conservative estimate."

And so they all start walking, following Midorima down several blocks. The teens behind him talk to one another in the meantime.

"So Aominecchi!" Kise starts the conversation once again. "How long have you known Kurokocchi?"

"Huh? ...Oh, wait, are you the guy that says 'cchi' all the time?" Aomine replies, frowning.

"So Kurokocchi told you about me?!" Kise cheers shrilly with sparkling eyes.

"Gah! Uh, y-yeah... calm the f #% down already!" Then Aomine composes himself and finally answers Kise's question: "Uh, I met first him on his birthday two years ago, so..."

"So we've known each other for two years and two months," Kuroko says with a smile.

Aomine puts his hands in his jacket's pockets and sighs. "If only we knew when your real birthday was..."

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Kise exclaims. "Midorimacchi said something about Kurokocchi having amnesia earlier! Is that really true?"

Aomine blinks in surprise and looks down at Kuroko, who is, of course, walking right next to him, between him and Kagami. "Don't tell me... How could you not tell them something like that?!"

"I didn't think it was important," Kuroko states simply. "They never asked me about my past, so I never felt the need to tell them anything."

Aomine face palms and mutters something about 'Tetsu being such a simple-minded idiot'. He then sighs again. "Argh, then we'll tell you and Kagami about it at the fair, where it'll be easier to talk in private."

"How is that any better than out in the streets here?" Kagami asks, pointing out the mass of people out and about. They _are _in a city, after all.

"There's this thing called a Ferris wheel, Bakagami," Aomine retorts, testing Kagami's new nickname, "and the ones in Seirin hold up to four people per seat."

* * *

><p>On a crowded subway car, Haizaki glances to his right over at who he is now certain must be 'Kuroko Tetsuya'. No one seems to notice that he is sitting right next to Kuroko's group. Midorima, farthest from Haizaki, is carefully dusting off his stuffed frog; and Kise is trying to break up Kagami and Aomine's argument over why Kagami deserves the name 'Bakagami'.<p>

_Heh, if I were stupid enough to give myself away, I'd tell you why... _Haizaki slowly reaches into his pocket. _It's 'cuz you can't even take care of your little slave-friend here!_

_And he'll soon belong to me._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I'm starting to use more measurements... (feet, inches, etc.) Let me know if you want me to convert them to the metric system, or maybe put the metric conversions in parenthesis or something. I need to remember that people outside of America may be reading this, so I've realized that I should probably be more conscientious...

Oh, and I'm sorry about the late update! (I think it's only a day late, but I still feel bad -_-) Something fairly sudden came up and I wasn't able to use a computer for a few days. On top of that, the mobile version of the site wouldn't let me log in for some reason, so that didn't really help... But at least I got this done before the weekend was out!

Thanks for reading as per usual!


	16. Circle and Arrow

**A/N: **Oh geez, I just realized something: I haven't thanked my reviewers in a while (or rather, it feels like a while to me)! Damn, how could I be so thoughtless?! So before I forget again: Thank you, AikahisakatuHogo-sha, kurie-tibiti, and Illuminate Rain for posting reviews for the past few chapters! I know I don't say it often enough, but I really do appreciate it!

* * *

><p><em>Sigh, I really hoped that Aomine-kun and Kagami-kun would get along better.<em> Kuroko silently watches the two teens fight, upset that his lack of presence won't do much to help.

The subway car begins to slow down as it reaches the next station. Three more stops to go before they reach their destination...

The car has almost halted completely when Kuroko suddenly feels something sharp gently yet firmly poke at his left arm... and it stays there.

Before Kuroko can turn to look, a voice tells him to do the opposite.

_"Don't turn to look at me, or your friends are gonna get hurt. Got that?" _He feels the sharp object, which he assumes is a knife, press harder against his arm.

Kuroko, realizing the situation he's in, feels cold sweat start to develop on his temple as he slowly nods his head. He keeps looking straight at Kagami and Aomine, who are completely oblivious.

_Maybe someone else on the subway will notice? _Kuroko prays for any assistance, but he receives none.

A few tense moments pass. When the car completely stops, the voice speaks again: _"Let's go take a walk, Tetsuya."_

Kuroko softly gasps at the sound of his name. _H-how does he know? How does he know my name?!_

But he obediently gets up...

* * *

><p>Kuroko remembers walking down several blocks. The voice behind him said to turn right into an alleyway... so he did... But what happened after that?<p>

_Did he knock me out...? How did I get here? _Kuroko finds himself sitting up against a wall on the floor of a small, dimly lit room with absolutely nothing in it except a single light bulb dangling from the ceiling. The entire room... the walls, floor, ceiling... it seems to be made of concrete... Well, concrete that is far from new. Kuroko can spot several cracks here and there... and the floor is covered in dust, dirt, small pieces of rotting food here and there, and what he believes to be animal droppings in the corner farthest from him. On the other side of the room is a rusty-looking door.

Kuroko slowly gets up, feeling rather sore for some reason.

_At least it doesn't feel like anything's broken..._

He walks up to the door and tries turning the knob. And of course it's locked.

Kuroko feels the fear rising up in his chest, and he starts imagining the worst case scenarios: he was left there to die. His kidnapper would come back and torture him. He would be raped. He would be killed. He would be sold into slavery again. He would be killed in front of his friends- _His friends!_

He wildly reaches into his pocket, and hope fills his heart when he takes out his lovely, beautiful, possibly _life-saving _phone!

_Please have service, please have service...!_ Much to Kuroko's relief, he does indeed have service. He also has many messages and voicemails...

But he doesn't have time to read/listen to them now. His kidnapper could come back any moment and-!

He shivers as he pushes those thoughts out of his mind and proceeds to call Aomine.

_*ring*... *ring*...*ri-*_

_"Tetsu?!"_

_"Aomine-kun!" _Surprisingly, Kuroko has never been so relieved to hear Aomine's voice. ...Well, except for that one time during the invasion...

_"Are... are you OK?! Where are you?"_

"I'm... I'm alright... But I... I don't know where I am!" Kuroko begins to shake from panic, suddenly realizing that he could be far away from the city right now and not even realize it!

Aomine, noticing the panicked tone in Kuroko's voice, tries to calm him down. _"Just relax, OK? _Relax, Tetsu. You're going to be fine. _Think backwards. What's the last thing you remember?"_

"I-I was walking into an alleyway with the kidnapper behind me. He had a weapon... I don't know anything else!" Kuroko tries to hold back his tears, but they can't help but roll down his cheeks. He's worried that Aomine may notice he's crying through the phone. _I don't want to worry him anymore..._

_"Sshh, calm down. Where were you before that?"_

And so with gentle yet urgent coaxing from Aomine, Kuroko is able to tell Aomine the path he took from the subway to the alley. It turns out he remembers more than he thought.

* * *

><p>"Alright, I think I see an old, abandoned concrete building just, like, fifty yards away. I bet that's where you are. I'm gonna go in. I want you to stay quiet, though, OK? Just in case if the kidnapper's nearby."<p>

_"...Okay. Are you... staying on the phone?"_

"Of course. I'm just being cautious, that's all. Don't start shouting at the top of lungs unless something actually happens."

_"R-right..."_

"Alright, I'm entering the building now." _Holy shit, this building is super old! _

Aomine figures he's in an old, abandoned shop of some kind. What appear to be collapsed wooden shelves are rotting against the wall, and... wait, that's about all he can see. The sun hasn't completely set yet, but it's still pretty damn dark inside this place.

_Good thing I brought a flashlight with me. _He pulls out a tiny flashlight from one of his pockets and flips it on. Now he can see what he assumes is the cashier's desk, still standing somehow. But the walls and ceilings have cracks in it... It feels as though the place could collapse at any moment!

Aomine then notices an old, rusty-looking door behind the desk. He slowly, cautiously walks up to the door, looking around as he does so. _Looks like I'm all alone right now._

When he reaches the door, he speaks in a normal voice: "Hey, Tetsu, can you hear me?"

He hears a click from the other end of the phone. _What?! He hung up on me?!_

_"Yes, I'm right here!" _It's muffled, but Aomine can distinctly hear Kuroko's voice coming from behind the door!

_"Tetsu!" _Thankfully and surprisingly, the door opens inward quite easily.

"Aomine-kun!" Kuroko cheers and rushes forward to hug his friend.

But Aomine pushes him back. Something caught his eye...

"...Um, Aomine-kun...?"

_"...oh no." _The circle and arrow... it's everywhere. The 'male' symbol has been drawn in marker all over Kuroko's face.


	17. The Meaning of 'Male'

_"Aomine-kun?!" _Kuroko keeps shouting as Aomine silently forces Kuroko to put up his hood, covering as much of his face as possible. _"Wh-what's going on?"_

"I'll explain later." Aomine wraps his arm around Kuroko as he quickly walks him to the exit of the old, concrete building. "Just keep your head down, OK? We're going to our dorm."

"O-okay..." Kuroko obeys.

Aomine, with his arm still wrapped around Kuroko, escorts him to his dorm, which, thankfully, is only a few blocks away, located near the North-West High School. Building #8, Room #5, now a double rather than a single. Once inside, Aomine lets Kuroko put his hood down, allowing him to look around his new home.

Aomine's room is a decent size. From the door, to Kuroko's right is a bed, large enough for two people, up against the wall, settled between two nightstands, each with a lamp. Up against the wall opposite to the bed is a dresser. Attached to the ceiling is a ceiling fan with a light, which Aomine had already turned on. Further to the left is an open door leading to the bathroom, which Kuroko is suddenly herded into by Aomine's force.

Before Aomine turns the light on, he warns Kuroko: "...The person who kidnapped you knows that you're a slave."

"What? How... how do you know?"

"You're about to see..." Aomine flips the light switch on.

Kuroko looks back at himself in the mirror...

* * *

><p>"Are we almost there, Midorimacchi?" Kise asks as he and Kagami are led by Midorima, who had earlier stated after a phone call that Aomine had found Kuroko and wanted to talk to Kagami and Kise about something. He was also able to tell them about Kuroko's... status. The trio walks down a hallway located on the first floor in one of North-West High's dorm buildings.<p>

Midorima suddenly stops walking. "We're here now." He knocks on the door, and it is opened by Aomine after a few seconds.

He looks up and down the hall nervously before letting them in.

"Kuroko-!"

_"Kurokocchiiiii!" _Kise rushes over to Kuroko, who is sitting on the bed, and wraps his arms around him.

"Ack-! K-Kise-kun...!"

_"Hey, Kise, you're suffocating him!" _Aomeine jumps out of nowhere and yanks the blonde off of Kuroko. But before he scolds Kise further, Kagami sees the marks on Kuroko's face and gasps. Kise now notices them too, and he gasps more dramatically.

"Oh my gosh... I know we were told about this, but..."

The 'male' symbol, all in black, thick marker, appears twice on Kuroko's left cheek, three times on his right cheek, and once on his forehead.

_Well, at least he's not physically hurt. _Kagami ruffles Kuroko's hair for the first time, smiling- _"Ow! What the hell was that for?!" _Kagami backs away after feeling a sharp jab at his side.

Aomine laughs and teases, "You better watch out, Bakagami. He hates it when people do that."

Kuroko, who looks much more content now, nods. "Please don't fuss with my hair anymore, Kagami-kun."

Kagami blushes and looks away. "Tch, I wasn't _fussing..."_

"Anyways..." Aomine, feeling irritated from seeing Kagami's red face, interjects, "I tried washing some of it off, but it's as stubborn as shit!"

"Did you get _any _of it off?" Kise asks with a concerned look.

"Sigh, yeah, I got a little, but I could only tell by seeing some of the residue on the washcloth!"

"This is awful... _Who did this to you, Kurokocchi?"_

Kuroko droops his eyes and shakes his head. "I don't know. I only heard his voice."

"Oh, that reminds me," Aomine walks towards the door. "Kagami, Kise. I need to tell you some stuff." When Kuroko gives him a confused look, he elaborates: "I'm just gonna tell them about your amnesia and whatnot."

"Oh, I should tell them-"

"No, you should get ready for bed. Midorima, stay with him."

Before Kuroko can protest, Aomine is gone and Midorima has already herded Kise and Kagami out the door.

* * *

><p>"Why can't Kurokocchi tell us, Aominecchi?!" Kise whines as the trio walks around in the park by the North-West Gates. It's 8:30; the sun had already set, but the extremely well-lit city is still bustling nearby and there are enough street lamps in the park to allow them to see where they are going.<p>

"Cuz there are some things he wouldn't feel comfortable telling you." Aomine stops walking to turn to face the others with a serious look. "So I'm gonna make it all clear."

Aomine sits down on a conveniently nearby bench; Kagami and Kise sit on the conveniently adjacent one.

Aomine gets straight to the point: "When I first met Tetsu, he was skinnier than he is now. I just found him wandering alone in an open field just outside of Yosen. He was in pretty rough shape, but he insisted that he couldn't see a doctor. I couldn't just leave him there in the snow, so I finally dragged him back to my house (which wasn't hard at all, since he was so freakin' light). I managed to keep him out of sight from my family while forcing him to eat well." Aomine chuckles. "I think those days might've been the hardest in my life!

"So anyways, he told me that he had amnesia after a few days of staying with me. Apparently he'd been wandering around the field for a few hours before I found him. The only things he could remember were his name and age, but he didn't even know his birthday for some reason. Oh, and you know how he only wears one wristband?" Aomine pauses to roll up his left sleeve to reveal what must be the second wristband.

"Oh, so that's why Kurokocchi only wears one! I just thought he lost the other..."

Kagami remains silent, pissed off by the realization that this whole wristband-wearing thing reminds him of friendship bracelets.

Aomine continues, "Yeah, he was wearing both of them when I first found him. They mean a lot to him; he thinks that he might be able to remember something someday if he keeps at least one of them on all the time."

_"Has _he managed to remember anything?" Kagami asks.

"No... not yet...

"Oh yeah! There was something else I wanted to tell you guys..." Aomine takes off his wristband. "Y'know how Tetsu's been marked as a slave with the 'male' symbol?"

Kise and Kagami nod.

"Well, mine's different." Aomine holds up his left fore wrist for the other two to see.

"It's... a fist?" Kagami guesses.

"Yeah," Aomine replies as he puts the wristband back on. "The 'fist' stands for 'physical labor'. But that's just a general category. A subcategory could be something like farming, which I was used for, but I could've been used for construction work."

"So the Marks tell the master what to use the slave for?" Kise asks.

"No, not exactly. The master can do whatever the hell he wants with his slaves. But when someone is first brought into slavery, these assholes called 'Slave Managers' mark them based on what they think the slave will be best at. And then, when they're taken to slave auctions, they'll be separated from the other slaves based on their category... It's basically a recommendation."

"So what does the 'male' symbol mean? Does that just mean Kuroko can be used for a variety of things?"

"No... the category Tetsu was placed in is actually pretty specific..." Aomine's eyes narrow. "If a girl's put in this category, the symbol on her wrist will be the 'female' one, and there's a lot more of them with that Mark..." He clenches his fists and looks away. "It's disgusting...!"

"So... um... what category is Kurokocchi in...?" Kise asks timidly.

After a short pause, Aomine answers while still looking away, _"__Tetsu was marked as... a sex slave."_

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Things are finally being explained a bit. I hope this chapter answered some of your questions, Aikahisakatu! The gang that Himuro's in will be explained soon as well... and you'll also learn more about Haizaki! So be patient, dear readers... it will all make sense eventually, I promise!


	18. Nothing But a Warning to be Gained

_"Idiot! You useless dog!" _

_"I can't believe he actually let Kuroko get away...!"_

"Heh. Are you a deep sleeper or something, Himuro?"

Himuro is unable to respond. Being beaten and chained to the wall does _not _help with one's communication skills. What's worse, is that he can't even read the eyes of the fellow gang member in front of him.

_How can Hara even see with his purple hair constantly covering his eyes...!?_

Hara holds a hand up to silence all the other teens in the room. "Everyone leave. You all have your jobs to do, right?" He turns to face them with a sadistic grin. "I'm actually kinda curious to see how Boss will punish you for slacking off."

Within seconds, Hara and Himuro are left all alone.

Hara, with his head facing Himuro, begins to slowly pace back in forth in front him. _"Why did we ask you to get Kuroko, Tatsuya?"_

_"..."_

Hara suddenly lands his fist on Himuro's stomach, making him cough and gasp for air.

**_"Tell me why already!"_**

_"*koff-wheeze*- s-so... Boss can have him-*gasp*-all to himself."_

"And what is this gang's purpose again?"

_"...t-to... put the slaves-*gasp*- in their place."_

"Look at me when you say it. Say that part in the oath."

Himuro slowly lifts his head further. Hara is still wearing that disgusting grin. _They're all so disgusting!_

"I'm waiting, Tatsuya. We can do this all night. I'm actually quite enjoying this." Hara reaches into his pocket-

_"We're here to remind the Inferiors why they have Marks on their wrists."_

"Heh-heh... good boy."

Himuro suddenly finds himself sprawled out on the cold, concrete floor. Every inch of his body aches.

"Well, I'm feeling generous today, so I'll let you spend your time here without the chains." Hara walks to the door, but he pauses with his hand on the knob. "Oh, and I hope you don't get too _thirsty_ while waiting for Boss. You know how he is. Depending on his mood, he might not come to see you for a _week."_

An object is suddenly hurled at Himuro. He barely manages to block/catch it with hands.

_...A water bottle...? I doubt it's actually water... it doesn't even look clear._

After hearing the door open and slam shut, he struggles and soon succeeds at sitting up against the wall, when he finally unscrews the bottle cap and sniffs.

It's urine.

* * *

><p>"I really wish you would let me tell them, Aomine-kun."<p>

_"Huh-? GAH!" _Aomine jumps at the sound of Kuroko's voice and the sight of him awake, calmly laying in bed next to him. "Jeez, Midorima told me that you were asleep!"

"I was, but I think you woke me up when you flushed the toilet a few minutes ago."

_"Sigh, _I haven't felt that in a while..."

"So what did you tell them, exactly?" Kuroko asks as Aomine lays down next to him.

"Oh, I just told them about how I first met you with your amnesia. I didn't need to go into much detail," Aomine replies, looking away.

"...Aomine-kun always looks away when he lies. That wasn't _all_ you told them, was it? You were gone for a long time, after all."

Aomine looks back at Kuroko in bewilderment, then sighs. "Argh, it's annoying that you know me so well... Fine, I also told them about your Mark."

Kuroko frowns. "Kagami-kun and Kise-kun already know I have one."

"No, it wasn't about the Mark itself..." Aomine pauses. "...I also... told them about its meaning. ...Y-you're okay with that, right? I figured it would be best if they found out sooner rather than later..." Aomine adds upon seeing Kuroko's eyes widen.

But they quickly revert back to normal size, and they are full of understanding. "I'm okay with it, Aomine-kun. I probably would've had to tell them myself someday anyhow." He shifts in bed so that he is now laying on his back, looking up at the ceiling. "I've just been afraid that they might treat me differently if they ever found out."

"Nah, I don't think you need to worry about that." Aomine waves his arm as if trying to wave off Kuroko's worries. "After talking with them, it doesn't seem like they will, anyway."

"Oh, that's good. ...Aomine-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"I've been thinking lately... and I realize that if Kise-kun hadn't found me in Rakuzan, and if Kagami opposed the idea of taking me in, I might not even be alive right now." Kuroko shivers. "I suddenly feel very cold whenever I think about what my master must have been like."

"Then don't think about it, you idiot."

"Sigh... you're right." Kuroko finally lets his body relax underneath the covers, and he closes his eyes. "Goodnight, Aomine-kun."

"'Night, Tetsu." Aomine reaches to his left and turns off the lamp, then fully lays down again while looking at Kuroko, who is already fast asleep. It's not completely dark. Kuroko still seems to have trouble sleeping in complete darkness, so Midorima pulled up the blind while leaving the curtains drawn. Aomine doesn't mind. The walls now dimly and softly glow blue... just like Kuroko's hair...

_But something's not right here... The kidnapper obviously knows that Kuroko is a sex slave, but I don't think that anything's been... _done _to Tetsu. He said he felt sore when he woke up, but he doesn't seem to have any bruises or anything like that. He was probably just sore from sitting in a concrete room for an hour. But why would someone kidnap a sex slave, knowingly, and not _do _anything?! It just doesn't make any freakin' sense! There's nothing to gain from it. ...But wait... the marks on Tetsu's face... Maybe it's a warning of some kind?!_

* * *

><p>"So what are you going to do about Haizaki, Han- erm, Boss?"<p>

_"I'm not sure yet... He's getting a lot more involved like I thought he would, but I never suspected that he would act so soon... Which means I'll need to get closer to Kuroko sooner. Tatsuya, I want you to follow him around as much as you can until after the Grade Placement exams, got it?"_

"Yes, sir."


End file.
